A tale of the Stalker
by Faxx
Summary: This is a tale of a stalker wandering in The Zone to uncover it's mysteries. What will he discover - remains unknown.
1. Introduction

*Credits to Psihopatul Fin for spreading and helping me with this*

"I must kill him at all costs'', said the Stalker as he was chasing the Renegade A-Unit, set to deal with the Loners on the other side, as their main force was fighting the mercenaries north of them. The Stalker's name was Lefty . Silently, he pulled out his weapon.

"Hmm, he's wearing an Exoskeleton, i thought Renegades don't have such, it'll take about 2 shots to his head to deal with this" .He waited for the moment the Renegade was about to pick up an unknown device, as it seemed to him . As he was stationary, The Stalker leaned from the tree and shot 2-well placed shots to his head.

''Sleep well, baby'', said Lefty and hid behind the tree .The guards spotted him, and he begun to run to the camp, to report The night was falling ."Whew, just in time, 20 minutes and I've could be eaten by a mutant...".As he was going through the camp to the main building, he saw the doors of the main buildings were shut, which was unordinary, and a dude was staying in front of the doors.

"Can I talk to leader Vladimir ? said Lefty.

"No, he's having a conversation with the Mercenary diplomat, they are discussing something secret" Said the dude.

"I demand that you open the door! I'm here to report a mission..."

"YOU CANNOT ENTER, back away or you'll be mutant food! "Said the dude with an irritating voice. Lefty went back to his room and locked himself. "What a son of a bitch ".He laid down on his bed and he did not felt that he's overslept.

(11:40 am)"Oh, I've dreamed a unknown mutant with giant jaws eating me ".He left all his weapons in his personal box, as it was forbidden to carry weapons in the camp.

"Let's go to Vladimir now", said Lefty and got out of the building in which the rooms of the Loners were. The weather was clear, which made him happy. Fortunately, the bastard was not on the door, and the door was open, finally.*Knock Knock*

"Who is it?"

"It's Lefty, it's about the mission"

"Enter, comrade"

"I've performed the operation, as you ordered"

"Excellent Lefty! Get your reward!

Vladimir gave 10000 RU to Lefty, as for the danger of the mission .Lefty restocked, he bought some ammo including grenades and a few med-kits and bandages .He was hungry, so he went to the local canteen to eat something .As he was hungry, he bought a bread and a tourists breakfast can. He ate that with satisfaction .Today it was a free day for him, as he had no jobs .The weather was nice, so he decided to go look for some artifacts.

"Let's try out that new detector ". He went to the anomaly which produced acid. As he was running to it, he inhaled some kind of gas, and he began to cough hardly. "Let's put my gas mask!" said Lefty. The bolts he threw into the anomaly dissolved in a matter of seconds .Then he pulled out his detector. As he pulled it out, he heard a beep and saw 3 artifacts! He picked them up, and as soon he got out of the anomaly, he discovered that he was encircled with about 5 bandits!

"Hand over the artifacts, punk, or die!

"I've got no artifacts, this one is empty!"

"LIAR! We've seen you as you picked them up, hand them over quickly!"

"Well, get them if you want them" And Lefty threw them off the hillock .The bandits, as dumb as they were, instead of killing Lefty, they went town the hill-side for the artifacts.

"Now you're mine", said Lefty and killed them with a grenade. He picked the artifacts and on one body he found a PDA, which was unfortunately blocked with a code.

"I'd best take this to the mechanic, he could figure this out" Said Lefty and rushed through the plain to the camp. As he was running he heard on his radio a terrifying scream. "Help me, coordinates are 42, 51".Leet uploaded the coordinates to his PDA and he began to run there. When he got there he discovered that the spot was actually a cave !He unfortunately got only 2 grenades...As soon he entered the cave, he heard a scream .This scream was not human, it was a mutant's scream. He silently slipped to the end of the cave, when he saw a controller eating a man! Lefty quickly threw a grenade, and the controller's body like jumped out of there .He quickly run to the guy.

"Ah, what a stench !I better get the hell out of here"! Lefty got out of the cave, and it fell apart from the grenade he threw.

"What a mess, if i stood up in there for a couple of seconds i could be a desert for the mutants, he, he".

(16:27 pm)"Attention, attention !A blowout is approaching !Find cover immediately!

*BANG*

"Fuck, i must get to the camp as soon as possible" .The cloud was getting dark, then red, then dark. Over the hill he noticed some lights, that was his camp. Suddenly, as he was running, he stumbled over a rock and fell.

"Ah. my knee"

(16:35 pm) "Stalkers, Lefty here, i fell, and my knee is injured, col. Vladimir , send some guys to help me!"

(16:35 pm) "We're on our way, comrade"

The guys barely could see him, as they were in a hurry. As soon as they found him, they brought him to his room.

(16:50)Attention, an emission is starting ! Find cover immediately!

"Well, I'm safe for now. Let's rest", Said Lefty and fell asleep

*******************CHAPTER 1 - END*******************


	2. Chapter 1

"Do not go in The Zone! Do you know how many have died there? I do not want to lose my brother!"

"No, I am going with, or without you brother. Time has come, our ways separate. I will not forget you."

"Is…is this possible?" Said Lefty, with an unordinary fast breathing. He had a clear vision of his past, when his brother made his final attempt to turn away Lefty from going into The Zone. He got out of his bed, with his shoulders hurting. He went outside.

"I can not believe this. Oh dear brother, how I miss you now, how could I ever leave my family for rumors?" Said Lefty as his tears were falling onto the earth. He sat down on a wooden crate, looking into the stars. Lefty put his hands on his face, like a child when crying. In that moment, he heard a few cracks from the sky, and rain began to fall. This woke up in him a feeling of emptiness and solitude. He then recollected himself, sweeping his tears of his face.

"What can I do now? Nothing! But life goes on" Said Lefty, and as he was going to his room, he heard some snore sounds.

"What the..! ? " He tip-toed to that door from which came that snoring sound. He tried to open it, but the door was locked.

"Fuck, what to do now? Ah, here is the keyhole! Let's see…" He lowered his head, and looked through the keyhole, only to discover a stalker sleeping!

"What the, oh my God…Ha, ha, ha, ha ,ha, " That made Lefty a bit happier. He went to his room and laid down on his bed, quickly forgetting the vision.

(7:42 am) "Lefty, come over to the HQ, I got something for you."

(7:42 am)"Who.. who is that?"

(7:43 am) Vladimir you idiot! Come now!

"What does he want right now, I wanted to sleep!" Said Lefty, and went through the door and yawned. The sky was clear, with some lone clouds wandering in the sky. This time, the camp was alive! There were many stalkers, as they were preparing something.

"Hmm, strange, let's better go to Vladimir, maybe he can tell me the thing about this". And then Lefty went to the HQ building. Vladimir was waiting him at the door, as he seemed upset.

"Howdy, Vladimir!" Said Lefty with a funny voice

"Do not joke with me, this is serious!" Said Vladimir. Suddenly, The happiness from Lefty's face turned into a scared one.

"What happened, tell me!"

"The PDA you've found, is de-blocked, thanks to our mechanic. According to it, the Mercenaries betrayed the peace-treat we've made with them and they are planning an attack on the camp!" With that said, Vladimir made an very angry face, and hit the door with his fist!

"Damn it! And I accepted a peace-treat with them! We only needed that now!" Lefty, as he wanted to say something, but he just could not. His mouth was open, but the words wont come out. Lefty is shocked.

"But why.." Said Lefty and felt his hands shaking.

"Vladimir, I've heard a lot of those Mercenaries, they are professional soldiers"

"That is right, but, they do not have the element of surprise now, come over here, let's give it a shot, let's make a plan, buddy!" And Vladimir then nodded the head in the direction of the table which was in the HQ, with some maps on the table. Lefty followed, still in shock. When he entered, Vladimir closed the door, keeping it top-secret.

"So, Vladimir, what was written in the PDA, from where will they attack?" Asked Lefty with great curiosity.

"Well, according to the PDA entries, they are going to attack from the north-east and south-east. I've called the stalkers which reside in this camp, and told them their positions and stuff. Now, I need to consult you."

"They are attacking at day, this was not a good idea for as they say the "experienced" Mercenaries."

"Yes, but it seems they do want a fight, what idiots they are"! Said Vladimir with a slight relief on his face.

"So, Vladimir, is Nikka still here?" With that said, Lefty stretched his eyes.

"You mean the sniper-boy? Yes, he is here."

"We should set him on one attic so he can snipe the mercenaries."

"That is a good idea, Lefty! Wait, I'm going to call him by radio." And Vladimir took a radio device, which looked somewhat old.

(11:12 am) "Nikka, col. Vladimir here, report to the HQ immediately"

(11:12 am) "On my way." When Vladimir heard that Nikka is going to aid them, he felt a relief. Well, Nikka did not tell that he is going to help them, but Nikka was a friendly guy, and always wanted to help.

"How many of us are here, Vladimir?" Asked Lefty whilst looking at the bloodsucker's head, which was above Vladimir.

"We've got 20 stalkers in our camp. Unfortunately, only 9 of them got an Exoskeleton, and the others got the Sunrise bodysuits.

"Do you have any information about the numbers of the mercenaries?"

"No, Lefty, but in the PDA entries it's also mentioned that a whole camp is going to attack"

"Well, we will make them a warm welcome!" Said Lefty, with his voice going up.

At that time, somebody knocked on the door. Both Lefty and Vladimir turned to the door, as they were curious.

"Who is there?" Asked Vladimir, with a harsh voice.

"Nikka, you called me, col. Vladimir!

"Enter Nikka!"

"Well hello" Said Nikka while looking at Lefty.

"My name is Nikka, you must be Lefty?"

"Yes, that's my name."

"Well, enough of chat you two, we must make a plan. First, Nikka, let me explain the situation to you. By a PDA entry, a group of mercenaries are going to attack the camp. They will attack at day, so we can prepare ourselves." Said Vladimir and put his hands on his back. "We want you, to climb the attic of a roof, with several snipers and on Lefty's command – kill them.". After Vladimir said " And on Lefty's command", Lefty jumped out of the chair he was sitting on, and asked:

"What, I am going to lead the defense?"  
>"Yes. You never disappointed me, so I think you will not disappoint me this time either."<p>

Now Lefty felt like a true commander, he thought in himself

"Ha! I am going to command the stalkers! Like a real commander!"

"Alright, Vladimir. I will do my best, to defend the camp from those mercenaries." Said Nikka, and put his hand on his chest.

"That's what I wanted to hear, now come over here you two, I will tell you the tactics I've already planned."

" As they are going to attack from both south-east and north-east, we will split our forces. Nikka, you will command a group of 11 stalkers in the south-eastern part. 2 more snipers will join you. Lefty, you will command a group of 9 stalkers in the north-eastern part. "

"Vladimir, are we going to hide in the houses, and when they come in the camp, and then surprise them?"

"Not at all. 4 of you are going to hide in the upper-floors of 2 buildings, and shoot them from the windows. And the rest of you are going to stay at the outpost. Don't worry, I've set up barricades along the outpost."

"As for you, Nikka, you along with two other snipers, are going to hide in the houses. The rest of you – protect the south-eastern barricade. Is that clear?" Said Vladimir whilst looking at both of them.

Yes, sir!

"Good, boys"

"Vladimir, when are they going to attack?"

"Today, at about 4 o'clock pm. Now, go to your rooms, and prepare for the battle, when the time comes for the assault – I will tell you". "Now it's 1 o'clock."

Then, Lefty went to his room. He now realized the responsibility he took up. But, being a commander is the thing that he wanted. He then recalled his brother and his vision. That made him unhappy. He took out a picture out of a scratched box. That was his brother. He looked at it for a long time. Then, as he thought, he realized that he must defend the camp, for his brother!

Lefty, being given a new energy and will to fight, took out a box from under his bed. He opened it. In the box were all Lefty's weapons and medical supplies.

"Which weapon should I take…Hmmm…Where is my… Ah, here it is."

Lefty took out the AKS-74u, and took 2 grenades and 2 med-kits.

As he took the weapon out, he closed the box and laid it under the bed, where it's place was. Out of his shelf he took a rag and begun to clean the weapon. He meant to clean it thoroughly, as he did not want it to jam. When he finished with the cleaning, he laid it down carefully on his bed, and went to his locker. He tried to open it, but he forgot it was locked.

"Where did I put my key…Ah, here it is" And Lefty took out a small – rusty key. When he unlocked the door, and opened it, he saw his old Sunrise suit, which he customized by the local mechanic. He added to it several titanium plates for extra protection. He took it out, and he put it on himself.

(2:50 pm) "Nikka, Lefty, come over to the HQ! It's time!"

(2:51 Nikka: Coming)

(2:51 Lefty: Roger that, on my way)

"Let's do this" Said Lefty with a low voice. Then, he closed his eyes and took his weapon out in his hands. He walked to the HQ slowly, as his knees were shaking. He knew he might die in here. When he entered the HQ, Nikka was in there.

"Lefty, Nikka, the troops are yours to command! I know you wont screw it, move out!"

At that time, Nikka looked at Lefty. His eyes were telling like: farewell, brother! Lefty just turned his head on the other side. When they got out, the stalkers were waiting them. When Lefty saw his group, which seemed helpless without him, he felt the burden he was carrying. He knew that he can't let them down. He wanted to stay calm and he wanted to appear fearless in the eyes of his fellow stalkers. And so he did! They felt Lefty was a promising leader, which he thought he was.

"Nikka, good luck! We'll keep in touch so I can tell you when to shoot!"

"Same to you, my brother, stalkers, move out!" And the group began to march in tandem with Nikka at their head.

"Follow my lead, boys,!" Said Lefty and turned east, to his outpost. While they were marching, Lefty ordered 4 stalkers which got automatic rifles with a scope to climb the floors of the two buildings and take their positions.

When they finally got there, Lefty begun to outlook the field of possible mercenary scouts. He almost was certain nobody was there, but just as he wanted to lay his rifle on his back, he heard something from the bushes. Lefty, was scared at that time. He's never fought mercenaries so heavily armored.

"Stay low, wait for my command" Lefty really thought that were the mercenaries. He hid under a barricade, and slowly pulled his weapon out. When he did that, he slightly leaned from the corner and shot 3 bullets at the bush, or what was in it.

When he did that, a mutant boar run out of the bushes only to disappear between the houses. Another shot was heard,

"This must've been Nikka, he he "

" And I really thought that is a mercenary. Alright, everyone, take your positions." He, along with his 5 other stalkers went to guard the outpost.

Silence. Everyone was quiet. Lefty expected them to come in any minute now.

"Where are you, bitches?" Said Lefty and nodding his head in several directions, watching the field in front of them. Then Lefty took out his radio-device.

(3:50) "Nikka, any sign of the mercenaries?"

(3:50) "No, Lefty, I will tell you when we see them."

The stalkers became impatient. They've begun to ask when will they come. Lefty himself did not know the answer.

(4:10) "Lefty, we've been waiting for 20 minutes now, are they going to come?"

(4:11) "They will be here any minute now"

Then, a loud shot was heard from the south-eastern part. Right after the shot was heard, Lefty knew that the shot was fired from the mercenaries. He took out his radio again, and shouted:

"Onward, stalkers! Drive them back and do not let them in!" Lefty knew that Nikka did not have time to talk. Only after his message, the shots became more frequent. Lefty knew that the battle was ongoing there.

Right after that, the stalker from the window shouted:  
>"Watch out! WATCH OUT!"<p>

All of them quickly crouched as low as they can, hiding behind the barricades.

(4:15) "Shoot on sight boys!" Said Lefty through the radio signals, as he did not want the mercenaries to hear him.

(4:15) "Good luck boys!" A signal from the radio was heard. It was Vladimir.

At that time, Lefty was shaking. From behind, he heard some footsteps. Lefty took out a grenade, and pulled its ring out, he quickly threw it behind him, so he and his crew can lean out from the cover and shoot at them, while the mercenaries run for cover. He did that. After throwing it, he lowered himself as much as he could, as for the shockwave of the grenade. The grenade blew, as soon as it blew, some screams could be heard, and weapons hitting the floor.

"Open fire! Bring death to them!" As soon as he said that, He leaned from his cover, and saw 2 mercenaries lying on the mud, and the others made it to cover in time. He did catch a mercenary running, and placed a shot to his head. The mercenary fell on the ground. As soon as he fell, other mercenaries begun to lean from the corners. The fight started.

"Fire in the hole!" was heard, and one of the defending stalkers threw a grenade. As soon as he threw it, a mercenary blew a hole in his head. He fell on the ground. Silence occurred. Only gunshots from the south-eastern position could be heard. Lefty could not believe what he just saw. He stretched his eyes, and looked at the other confused stalkers, which did not know what to do. They were looking at each other, like they've lost their leader.

Lefty, full of fury and anger felt inside of him anger accumulating. "ONWARD STALKERS! BRING DEATH TO OUR ENEMIES! DO NOT LET THEM TAKE THE LIFE OF ONE MORE STALKER!"

As soon as he said that, the stalkers encouraged by his speech, opened fire on them.

"This is your end, whether it will be mine end, or it will be yours!" Said Lefty to himself. He caught a sight on a rifle, which end could be seen pointing from behind the walls. Lefty knew that this was an inexperienced soldier, as an experienced one would have known that. He aimed 3 centimeters above the rifle-end, that is where the head of the mercenary was. At least Lefty thought so. He waited for the mercenary to lean forward. Lefty begun to hold his breath, to keep steady.

"C'mon buddy, I will make a ventilating shaft in your head, just lean behind your cover!" Said Lefty and aimed more carefully now. Just as the mercenary leaned his head to see where the stalkers were, Lefty shot him.

"What did I say, you fool!"

As soon as Lefty said that, he felt a sharp pain in his upper part of his leg. He quickly threw his weapon on the floor, and looked at the wound. He was shot. The pain was unbearable. In his past life, Lefty did not take a single shot to his body. He tear his trousers and looked at the wound. At that time, the stalkers were fighting the mercenaries. Another stalker was hit too, he was trying to get the bullet out. Lefty knew what must be done. In addition to severe pain, he took the bullet with his fingers, as it did not go deep, and with the pain being more and more painful, he took it out. He quickly took a bandage from his backpack and wrapped the wound up. It was a relief. It was hurting him, but not so badly. Lefty took out his second grenade, and pulled the ring. He threw it right next to the noises that the mercenaries made.

That was a bingo. 3 mercenaries died from it. According to the stalker which was the closest to him, there was only one mercenary left. The stalker from the building killed that one.

Silence. The stalkers helped Lefty to stand up.

(5:12) Nikka, how's it going?

…

(5:13) Nikka, are you here, answer damn it!

Nikka wasn't replying.

" You two, go see what happened to Nikka and immediately tell me over radio"! Said Lefty with his pain easing. The two stalkers went off the road. Lefty slowly went to search the bodies of the mercenaries. On one of them, he found a PDA and a flash drive.

"Vladimir, me and my group made it, but Nikka is not replying, I've already sent two stalkers to see what happened, over and out"

"Very good, Lefty, keep me informed"

Lefty then got inside of a building, and laid down on one mattress. That was a relief. Still, he was concerned about Nikka.

"Lefty, Lefty, report in!" Lefty heard that over his radio device.

"I'm here, what is going around there?"

"There is a sign of battle, several mercenaries and 3 stalkers dead, nothing more! I can not see anyone, damn it…Wait, what is this, oh my…Lefty, we've found Nikka, unfortunately, Nikka has not made it."

"Fuck, damn those mercenaries! Damn them! Bring him here."

"Lefty, other soldiers appeared from the houses, they say that a mutant killed Nikka and killed the other mercenaries, and they went in the house to find shelter."

"Screw them…Ah…we've lost a good man." At that time, Lefty closed his eyes and slept.


	3. Chapter 2

…Just as Lefty closed his eyes, someone yelled on the radio:

(5:01) "Lefty, Lefty, come in!"

(5:01)"What happened, boys?"

(5:01)"Nikka was only unconscious, but he caught some bullets in his torso, requesting immediate medical assistance!"

(5:02)"Sending a medic on your way."  
>(5:02) "Vladimir, send a medic on the south-eastern part, Nikka is unconscious!"<p>

(5:02) "Thank God, I'll send him on their way. And Lefty, report to the HQ"

Lefty stood up on his legs, stretched, and felt a sharp and irritating pain in the place where he got hit. He then went out through a wooden door, and felt a light breeze on his head. The camp was quiet.

"Hmm, everyone must be at the HQ with Vladimir, I'd best hurry" Whispered Lefty and started walking towards the HQ building. His wound hurt, but he was proud of himself, as he did not let Vladimir and the other stalkers down.

As Lefty was walking, he saw a lone flesh mutant wandering. It was far away to cause any harm. Lefty stopped for a second watching the flesh. He, for unknown reasons wanted to kill it. Maybe he was just too proud of himself. Then he took out his weapon, and aimed at it. He followed the flesh, looking for the moment it will stop. Just as the mutant stopped, Lefty pulled the trigger, and surprisingly – nothing happened!

"What is this, is it broken already? I must repair it though." Said Lefty and continued walking down the dirt road to the HQ. He had a smiling face, as he already knew that Vladimir will talk best of him.

When Lefty finally arrived there, he saw Vladimir and four other stalkers encircled a stalker which was lying on a mattress. That is not what he expected. They seemed concerned about the stalker, as he was critically wounded. Lefty realized that the stalker was actually Nikka. He quickly closed the door and went to the mattress. Vladimir and the stalkers did not see him come. As Lefty moved closer to the mattress, he saw a medic applying some medicine onto his wound. As Lefty raised his look upon the face of Nikka, he saw a creepy sight. Nikka was grieving in pain. At that time, Vladimir saw that Lefty was there, and he tapped on his shoulder. Lefty turned around, and saw Vladimir, which had a serious face. Then Vladimir showed him a room which was also in that HQ building, although it had another door. Lefty knew that Vladimir had something to say to him.

Lefty looked at Vladimir with a questioning look. Vladimir just nodded his head into the room. Lefty knew that the room in which were the stalkers wasn't a good place to talk. As Lefty moved in, he sat on a chair. Then Vladimir entered and closed the door. Vladimir turned his back to Lefty. He wanted to talk, but couldn't choose the right words for it. Both Lefty and Vladimir were silent.

The next moment, Lefty interrupted the silence.

"So, what is it that you want to say me, Vladimir?"

Vladimir turned around to Lefty, yet, he wasn't talking anything.

"Lefty…Nikka's health is serious. We are concerned about his situation, as we may lose a warrior, which was really worth of any speeches." Whispered Vladimir, and walked closer to Lefty. Lefty looked upon him like a child. Lefty treated Nikka as his brother.

"Nevertheless, Lefty, this is The Zone. It is, although, sad if we lose Nikka, but life goes on. Especially here. I am going to overlook at Nikka for some time, and then, me and you will talk further. Nikka's time is short, I must go." Said Vladimir and entered the room, from which screams could be heard.

Lefty was sitting on that chair for a long time. He lost the sense of time, thinking of Nikka. He knew Nikka for a long time. It was so frustrating for him, as he could not do anything, for his friend, and he is grieving in pain. Soon, Lefty collected himself and realized that he must go to his friend, at least to be with him. He walked up to the door and entered the other room. Vladimir was talking with the medic, as it seemed to Lefty, they were arguing about something.

"Vladimir, I cannot only wrap a bandage around the wound, I have to disinfect it and then to proceed with removing the bullet, and THEN bandage him. The bullets went through a vital organ, if they stay there, they can cause serious complications!" Said the medic with a hasty voice, hurrying to save a stalker's life."

"To hell with you, do as you want!" Said Vladimir raising his hands.

"What happened, Vladimir, will Nikka be better? Will he die?" Said Lefty with a questioning face.

"Good news – we have a chance to save him". Said Vladimir with the voice of a real leader! Lefty liked that. He felt a relief on his heart.

"Lefty, you may go." Said Vladimir and looked at Lefty, Lefty then shot a questioning glance at Vladimir, which Vladimir waved away shaking his head. Lefty realized that it was not the right time to talk, nor it was the right place. He then got out of the building. The weather was clear, and stalkers began to patrol the camp. Lefty could see a somehow weird smile on their face, yet they fended off the mercenaries, but they've lost some men.

"Well I'd better go…"

"Hey Lefty, you remember me, right?" said a Stalker which had a familiar face to Lefty, but he could not just recognize him.

"Well, you're somehow familiar with me…But I can't recall"

"I am the stalker in the group you've lead against the mercenaries. All they've got in this camp was a few bullets in their heads! Ha!" The stalker smiled victoriously.

"So, Lefty, let's go and loot the bodies of the mercenaries, okay?

"Well, ok, let's go. And then the both of them went for the north-eastern position to scavenge the bodies.

They walked for some minutes when they finally saw some bodies lying on the ground. They were lying in some weird positions, like someone pushed them. Both of the stalkers were silent. Lefty recognized the stalker he shot down – by a bullet in his head. He smiled somehow, and begun to search his body.

"I should take off his suit, and give it to the mechanic, maybe he can start making our own suits too, by improving this suit." Said Lefty while unhooking the suit from the mercenary dude's body. The suits were deep blue in color, while the suit in the torso and chest area was black.

"Did you find something, Lefty?" Said the stalker without turning his glance to Lefty.

"Not yet, how about you?"

"I've found a first aid kit."

Lefty then turned the body so it lied on the stomach. He took off the backpack and felt how it was heavy.

"Oh, this guy was full, he, he."

Lefty unpacked the backpack. As soon as he did that, the PDA of the mercenary fell out. It was a newer version that Lefty had, with a larger display and some new buttons. Lefty then decided to upload the coordinates he had on his PDA to the new, and make take it for himself. He glanced at the stalker, to see what is he doing, whilst putting the PDA in his pocket. The stalker was busy checking some handgun. Lefty then proceeded with his looting. In the backpack, he found an army medical kit, two hand grenades, some ammo and 1000 rubles.

The Sun was setting down as the last rays enlightened the camp. Soon, roars of wild mutants could be heard. Lefty and the stalker finished with the looting, and then Lefty proceeded to his room to stash the loot.

"Vladimir, how's the situation there? I've found some loot on one of the bodies of the mercenaries, I'm going to my room to stash it"

"Nikka is getting better, thanks to this freaking medic! He's got magic, dude!"

"You now have a sense of humor, do you?" Said Lefty with a smile.

"Shut up and get here as soon as you do that. Oh and don't forget, bring some vodka and food here – you, me and a couple of stalkers are going to stay awake for a while tonight!"

"You're really in good mood Vladimir, aren't you? You know that I love feasts. Count me in!

As the night fell over the Zone, Lefty went to his room. He was happy that he survived a major fight. He hurried up, just leaving the loot on his bed, and taking 4 bottles of vodka and 3 diet sausages, along with the suit he took from the unlucky mercenary. He locked the door in a hurry, and went out.

The lights of the HQ building were lit, and some laughing from inside could be heard. Lefty hurried to there. He was happy, that in the Zone, a scary and mysterious place, some good people were optimistic and did not let the sadness overwhelm them. He quickly run to the building, and a familiar sight greeted him. A whole bunch of stalkers were there. Vladimir and 3 other stalkers were sitting on crates around Nikka, and chatting something with Nikka, although, Nikka was lying. 2 other stalkers were sitting with the mechanic and they were discussing something, as it seemed to Lefty, about weapons. Vladimir stopped to chat as soon as he saw Lefty.

Lefty and the stalkers begun to laugh hardly. They finally got rid of the danger the mercenaries posed to them. And Nikka was better too. Then Lefty opened his backpack, from which bottles of vodka stick out. He, with a big smile, put the food and drink to the table. Other stalkers also did put their food and drinks on the wooden table. The drink type varied from stalker to stalker. Mostly, the stalkers brought vodka. But a few of the stalkers brought also some rare drinks with them, as it was the right time to use them.

Vladimir was looking at Lefty, and Lefty then waved his hand at the mechanic showing Vladimir the suit he picked up. That was a sign to wait. Vladimir just approved the sign and shook his head.

"Sorry guys, but I need to say something to the mechanic!" Said Lefty, and the stalkers stopped talking.

"I have an idea. How about you start producing our own suits? I've taken this suit from a body of the mercenary, as it seemed good. You can acquire more stalkers to bring you different suits, so you can take the best from every and make us one suit, that would be great, what do you think?"

The mechanic stayed silent for a moment. Then he said:" Okay, but I will need tools. Lefty, you can go ask trader Sidorovich for the tools, he is one of the best traders in the Zone, if not the best!"

"Okay, but I will not go now." Said Lefty and nodded his head in the direction of Vladimir, saying to the mechanic that he must stay with them this night.

"Alright, bring them when you find them" Said the mechanic and continued his chat with the stalkers.

Lefty turned around facing the large group of stalkers where Vladimir was. He realized that there was no place for him to sit, so he took a wooden box from the corner of the building and put it next to Nikka. Vladimir took a bottle of vodka and said with a rough voice: "Cheers, boys!" At that moment, everyone was drinking what he brought. All of them were happy. As soon as Lefty drunk his first bottle of vodka, he talked to Nikka.

"Does it hurt you, brother?" said Lefty whilst looking at his wound in the chest.

"Oh brother… If it wasn't for this medic, I would die! It hurt like hell, but he pulled out the bullets and applied something to the wound, first he cleaned it with alcohol I think. He improvised, as he had no clean alcohol, he put some vodka on the wound! Man…It was the same like someone sticks a hot metal pole in your stomach. Vladimir and another guy held my arms, while another two held my legs. I wanted to kill that medic. But now, I feel pretty good."

"We fend them off., bro, we made it." Said Lefty while shaking Nikka's hand.

At that moment, everyone minded their own conversation. Vladimir was talking with a young stalker, not very experienced as Lefty saw. Both Nikka and him were silent. Nikka put an end to the silence and asked Lefty: "So, Lefty, tell me of your past life, why did you come to the Zone?"

Lefty then remembered his brother… and what did he tell him…Nikka saw that Lefty remained silent.

"Sorry if I did ask something you do not want to answer, my fault" Said Nikka.

"No, no…I just remember my brother…I will tell the story to you now."

"If you do not want to-…" And then Lefty interrupted him. He begun to talk of his past.

"At first, I lived in a big town in Russia. I finished my studying of architecture on the university of Russia. I had a girlfriend with whom I wanted to marry after my studies. She was a good woman. I liked her because of her kindness. Also, after I marry her, I wanted to open up a company with my brother, so us two could work together…And it happened that night… I finally passed my exam and I've organized a feast in the local restaurant. Me and my family called like 50 guests, and all of them came. We were enjoying the atmosphere and the food, and all was doing well, when some thugs entered the restaurant. There were 3 of them, and one of them weared a mask. All of the guests including me and my family looked at them. Suddenly, one of them took a pistol and shot two bullets in the air. The guests were in shock and fear, the women begun to cry and yet some did hide under the desk.

The one with the mask said then: "Victor, come out! We know that you are here!" Victor was my best buddy then. I knew that son of a bitch got himself into deep shit. As soon as the thug said his name, Victor stood up. The thug came close to him and fired 2 shots in his head. Nevertheless, Victor was my best buddy! And most important, that was my feast! We all were supposed to be optimistic there. So I stood up and grabbed a knife. The thug begun to run as someone was trying to call the police officers. There I chased him and furious, I stabbed him in his throat and in his belly. The two thugs ran away as I did that. The thug I stabbed, fell on the ground. Everyone from the restaurant saw me doing that. I quickly ran off to my grandfather's abandoned house and begun to prepare my stuff. I've already heard of The Zone as a mysterious place. I know that the police could not find me there.

Well, the house was my hiding place. Though my brother knew for it. I knew he was going to come here. And after 20 minutes – he came. I then tried to convince him to go with me – when we cannot be here together, we can be there. And he refused. So I went here myself.


	4. Chapter 4

*_**note that I am going to rewind events from the past, and I am not going to write in the past tense, because I am going to write it in the present tense. So don't get confused Stalkers!**_

"So how did you get past the military cordon, you paid someone for entrance?" Said

Nikka whilst drinking a small amount of some drink, which smelled terribly.

"I heard that north of the Cordon was a camp for rookies. I wanted to go straight to there. As for my passage, I did not pay anything to anybody. My friends were guys which leaded people through the Cordon for money. A nice sum of money. I helped them out sometimes so they could not charge me. So, I contacted my friends through my mobile phone, and they agreed. We decided to meet in their hiding place – an abandoned bunker. We were going to meet up in 2 days, because they were already leading some people through the Cordon. I remained in the safe house for those two days. I was literally doing nothing – just prepared myself mentally for the leaving and a new journey. For that time, my brother was bringing me newspaper and food. At one time, I wanted to return to my family. Despite all, I knew they were going to accept me. As soon as I read the newspaper, I changed my mind. They were looking for me. When those two days passed I went to the meeting place alone. I took an old backpack which I used whilst going to the university, along with a handgun with two magazines, which my grandfather gave to me. My brother did bring some food for me, and I brought it also. I heard about the artifacts, so I thought I could make money there. We finally met up in an old, deserted bunker. It seemed that it's going to collapse any moment. I saw that the bunker was only a meeting place – they had nothing there."

"…So, Lefty, do you know the basics of survival in the Zone?"

"Only I've heard is that it is a dangerous place with some anomalies in the energetic fields of the Earth there."

"Okay, we will explain it to you on the road there, come on, It's a long ways till there."

"So we exited the bunker and a large truck awaited me there. It seemed old, but still capable of driving."

"Ok, listen up Lefty. You are going to sit with us in the drivers cabin. And when we approach a mile to the Cordon, you are going to go to the trunk. Got it"?

"Yup, let's go." Said I, and entered the driver's cabin.

"Look, Lefty." Said one of my mates and started the engine. "The Zone is a very dangerous place. North of the place in which we're going to enter the Zone, is a Loner camp. Oh and I forgot to tell you about factions. You have several factions in the Zone."

"Duty – they are a paramilitary group of stalkers which want to destroy the Zone. They live under a strict code, which consists of mostly military rules. You can recognize them by their red and black armors. They are at war with Freedom."

"Freedom – they are a counter to Duty. Opposite Duty – they want to make the zone accessible to anyone. They do not live under a strict code. They wear green suits."

"Loners – That is a group of stalkers which live alone or in small groups. Lately it's said that they became united under a dude named Nikolai. They are at war with the Bandits and the Military. They wear mostly the Sunrise green suits."

"Mercenaries – They are stalkers which work for money. They do not have a base, although rumors say that they have a base in the Dead City. They wear blue and black suits.

"Renegades – they are similar to bandits. They were members of other factions and broke off from them. They also wear black suits.

"Bandits – Ah, the Bandits are at war with everyone, except Freedom. They are lightly armored. They are great in numbers, and they are trying to steal artifacts and what not. They wear black suits.

"Monolithians - Little is known of this guys. They live far in the center of the Zone and surround it. They have a foothold in the city known as Pripyat, Limansk, and the Red Forest. They are fierce warriors. They worship a stone in the center of the Sarcophagus – in the very center of the Zone. It is said that no faction can match them. Only a few stalkers survive encounters with these. Rumors spread that they are united by a "Preacher" called Psihopatul. Before him, the Monolithians were also strong. But since he has become the Monolith leader – their force grew. They kept fighting the Freedom guys at the Barrier, and they annihilated them. Their last attack was on the Military control point on the north. The eggheads called 2 choppers of which one was shot down, and the other managed to fire several rockets on the Monolith stalkers. Both sides got decimated… The jarheads got lucky."

"Military - those guys come from Ukraine. Their mission is to patrol the borders of the Zone. They wear the common green uniform of the Military."

"Scientists – Those dudes do not fight, instead they research the Zone."

"Seems to me, that Freedom and the Loners have the best ideologies for me." Said Lefty whilst opening a can with food."

"Whatever. Now have some rest, as when we enter the Zone, you will not have a warm bed every day."

"I am not tired, so, I've heard rumors about mutated animals."

"You did hear right, almost all animals mutated in the Zone, and even there are humanoid mutants!"

Wow, I'll know it when I get to the Cordon."

"Okay Lefty, now is the time. You should go to the trunk now." said one of Lefty's friends and stopped the truck. Lefty got out and at that time he could see some buildings in the distance. He and his friend went to the back of the truck.

The guy opened the truck, and dust came out from it. Both Lefty and his friend coughed hardly. Inside the truck were some large crates.

"Come here, we have a nice place for hiding." Said Lefty's friend and made a way through the wooden crates. On some of them was the acronym S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Lefty's friend put away the crates and a black "wall" showed up.

"What's that? Where I am going to hide in here?"

"Don't worry Lefty" Said Lefty's friend. That "wall" were black metal crates painted in black. He carefully put away a crate and ordered Lefty to get in there.

"You clever bastard! Ha-ha. Okay, go on." Said Lefty and crouched between the crates, coming inside a small room, blocked with the crates.

Then, he felt the engine starting again and the vehicle moving. Lefty sat against the wall. He took his backpack off his shoulders and opened the zipper. From the things, he took half a sausage and put the rest back to his backpack. He laid the backpack next to him and began eating the sausage.

The truck slowly began to slow down. He knew they were on the border of the Zone. When the truck stopped, from outside he could hear some voices.

"What are you carrying and where are you heading?" Said a man with an unknown voice. "this must be the Military" Said Lefty.

"We are carrying supplies for military forces! We are coming from the Ukrainian government." Said Lefty's friend. He was trained in lying, as Lefty could see.

"We need to check your trunk" Said the military dude and began to move to the rear of the truck.

"I'm screwed…"Thought Lefty and pulled his weapon closer to him.

The officer entered the trunk. Lefty could hear some noises which he made, he supposed that he was checking the "equipment".

Accidentally, someone hit the black metal crate and it moved to the side. Lefty quickly aimed at the crate which moved, whilst his hands shook.

The officer saw that, and immediately he suspected that this was a truck for Stalkers. He pulled out his automatic weapon and knocked one metal crate which crashed onto the ground. Both he and Lefty's friend were shocked. The officer turned around to face Lefty's friend but he ran away, as soon as he got away from the truck a loud noise could be heard. That were the machine gunners. After the burst, some noises could be heard from outside, like someone was crying for help. Another short burst could be heard and the grieving stopped.

"Fuck, they must've took out Mitya, I'm toast." Thought Lefty, but he still aimed at the hole in the "wall".

The officer came back to check the trunk. As soon as Lefty heard the steps, he moved a bit to the side, to await the officer. The officer took his weapon out, and he wanted to slowly walk to the hole. But Lefty spotted his shadow. He was exposed now. Lefty carefully aimed at the hole. When the shadow was getting bigger, Lefty squeezed the pistol and the trigger.

At that time, he could see something coming out slowly from the dark. That was the officer, or better, his helmet. When his head leaned a bit more, Lefty closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. As soon as he opened his eyes – nothing happened! He saw a hole in the wall. The officer ran away for help. Lefty realized that and ran out to chase him, so he could not call help. He stood up on his legs and quickly crouched next to the metal crates and got out, he saw the officer running. He got away. Lefty didn't loose hope there, but he ran out, also. When he did that – he saw the officer running for the buildings. Lefty aimed and shot his head. The officer fell, but he shot some bullets from his automatic weapon as a warning. As soon as he did that, more military soldiers showed up on the buildings. They saw Lefty. They said something in a bad Ukrainian, and the soldiers began to aim at Lefty. Lefty quickly hid behind the truck

"Fuck, I must get out of here" He looked around him, and he saw a forest in which he could run, avoiding the soldiers.

"I should throw something to the opposite side of the road so I can give myself a second to get to the woods." But between him and the forest was a barbed wire. Lefty knew that he didn't have the time to slowly jump over it. He took off his backpack from his shoulders and quickly took the other half of the sausage.

"Okay, this is my one and only chance" Said Lefty.

With his right arm he threw the sausage to the other side of the road, to the grass. The sausage made a noise in the grass, which the military spotted and opened fire there. Lefty took his backpack on his shoulders and began to run.

Every second seemed like an eternity for Lefty. Nothing was now between him and the machine gunners. As he closed by to the fence, one of the soldiers spotted him and said something in Ukrainian. Lefty's heart stopped, but, he knew that he must continue to run. From what the military were talking, Lefty could recognize only: "There he is, take him down!". Lefty knew it was now or never.

The fence was now close to Lefty, but he knew that they could shoot him in a second. He decided to make a run for it.

He put all of his strength together, and begun to run to the fence. His legs were hurting, but he did not care. The only thing he cared now was how he will get to safety. The machine gunners suddenly began to fire.

But, Lefty heard the noise the machine gunners made. He was close to the fence, so he jumped with all his forward momentum…

Silence. The machine gunners stopped firing, and no signs of Lefty. Only the slight breeze could be felt. But, Lefty's time was not over yet.

"Am I alive, what happened?" Said Lefty whilst lying in thick grass with woods surrounding him. The earth was cold, so was his life from that moment. Through the tall woods the sun rays barely came to the earth. Lefty put up his strength together and with pain in his legs, he got up. He quickly realized that this was not a dream – as he heard something or somewhat barked from the thick grass, and quickly came rushing to Lefty.

He freezes for a second, looking at the grass which seemed full of life. The mutant stopped in the grass for a second, only to jump out on Lefty. The beast aimed Lefty's head. Lefty had good reflexes – he quickly dodged to the side. He could now clearly see the beast – it was a dog that was entirely white.

"What the fuck is this, is this a mutant?" Lefty looked upon it as it was readying to land another jump on Lefty. It bent it's knees and jumped on Lefty. Lefty dodged, but the dog scratched him a bit. After that it disappeared in the thick grass.

Lefty knew he couldn't shoot it with it sidearm – because the military would hear him. He instead made a choice to give it a kick to it's head. But the beast was nowhere to find. Lefty just waited for the moment for it to jump out, so he could kick it. The breeze was making some kind of noise similar to the blind dog, so Lefty could not recognize the breeze noise from the blind dog's one. Suddenly, Lefty heard a loud noise from behind him. Yes, that was a bark. The beast jumped out straight behind him. Lefty heard that and he turned around with his leg risen up. He gave the beast a volley with his leg. That was a powerful one, as the beast quickly laid on the earth. Lefty took a deep breath and began walking through the thick grass. There was a plain in front of him, with no woods and thick and tall grass. In the far he saw a village with half broken houses.

"That must be the rookie camp"


	5. Chapter 5

"And that's how you got here, is it?" Said Nikka and opened a light blue box of cigarettes, pulled one cigarette out and lit it. The smoke covered the area around Nikka an d Lefty.

"Yes. After that I did some missions for the dude named Sidorovich, than got trapped by the Bandits after I killed some of their members and got out, and that's pretty much it. Now I got here"

The room was filled with a lovely atmosphere. Lefty and Nikka stopped chatting as Lefty seemed tired of talking. He took out his only vodka left from his backpack which heavily weighed with stuff. Nikka stood up and drunk a gulp of the vodka to "refresh" his lungs, and began walking towards Vladimir.

Vladimir was not seeming tired, instead, he was still chatting with the rookie stalker. The rookie wanted more stories from the deep of the Zone.

Lefty walked up the wooden floor to Vladimir. Vladimir noticed him, and gestured a "stop" sign with his hand, stretched to the rookie. He knew that Lefty has got something to tell him.

"So, what's going on here Vladimir?" Said Lefty and tapped on Vladimir's shoulder with a smile.

"Nothing much, I am talking some stories to this rookie, you know…" Vladimir whispered and winked to Lefty.

"I know all your stories Vladimir! Hehehe"

Lefty knew that few of his stories were lies that Vladimir used to tell around the campfire.

"Why do you not sit here and talk with us, Lefty?"

Vladimir pulled Lefty on his sleeve pointing his finger to the small chair. Lefty laid his backpack next to the chair and sat down on it. He begun the conversation talking both to Vladimir and the rookie.

"Me and the mechanic made a deal, he will produce armor for our faction but I need to get him materials from Sidorovich, I'll get them tomorrow."

"Excellent, but keep in mind that it shouldn't be to heavy or too light, it should have something unique. That will be the new suit of the Loners!"

"Don't worry, Vladimir, as soon as I get the materials I will consult the mechanic about it's design. And Vladimir, I must go to sleep. This was a exciting day. Oh and, we'll keep in touch through radio, because as soon as I wake up I am going to go to Sidorovich. That bastard will surely have some other work for me in exchange for the parts."

"I am going to bed soon myself. Good night, Lefty." Said Vladimir. Lefty just nodded his head and approved it. He turned around and opened the old wooden door. As soon as he got out he felt cold on his cheeks. The time was around midnight, and the wind was very cold then. He tightened his jacket, put his backpack onto his shoulders and made a run for it to the stalker room buildings.

The bitter and freezing wind chilled Lefty like a dead man. The earth under his feet cracked because it was dry. As Lefty moved away from the HQ building, the laugh from the stalkers became more silent.

The Stalker room building was quiet, as no one was in there. Everyone was celebrating in the HQ building. Lefty opened the metal door, which surprisingly was the only metal door in the camp. As soon as he got inside, he again felt warmth on his cheeks. He walked to his room in which was engraved "Лефти".

The small metal key fit well inside the keyhole. Lefty pulled it to the left - and the door opened. Lefty saw a familiar sight – an unmade bed, his personal stuff, and whatnot. But Lefty loved his room. That was the only place where he could sleep with no fear of someone or something killing him. He entered the room and locked it from inside. He unhooked his backpack and put it under the bed, took off his sunrise bodysuit and put it in the place he took it from. He was tired, so he did not want to do any tiding-up. With an enormous relief, he sat on the bed and exhaled. Lefty covered himself with a blanket and fell asleep.

The next morning, Lefty woke up with headache. He did not even open his eyes, but he stretched his hand to the table next to the bed. He grabbed a vial in which some pills were. That were pain killers. He drunk the pill without water, hoping the headache will stop in an hour. He catnapped till the headache was over. After forty minutes, Lefty felt the pain easing, and finally it stopped.

Lefty threw the blanket off himself, and surprisingly, he quickly got up on his legs. The air in the room he slept in was stiffly, so he opened the window. The weather outside was great. He felt a slight breeze which quickly refreshed the room. Lefty knew he had to go to Sidorovich. He went to prone and pulled the dusty backpack from under the bed. He wiped off the dust from the backpack, and opened it. In the backpack were his new PDA, half a bottle of vodka, and a sausage. He opened the inner zipper of the backpack and found money inside. That was his place for hiding money.

"I better transfer all my data to the new PDA." Thought Lefty and set the Bluetooth options on both PDA's active, and began data transferring. He wanted to prepare his backpack for a trip. He took out the vodka and put it in his personal box. From the box he took two medical kits, five anti-radiation drugs which he acquired the last day. He then closed the zippers on the backpack, and hooked it, and set it against the wall. He took his Sunrise bodysuit again, and put it on himself. The suit did not seemed wore-out because of the yesterday fight.

For this trip he took the 'Viper 5", also called MP5. The weapon did not make much noise, and he had it in perfect condition. Also he had much ammo for it. He did not want to put the weapon in his backpack – mostly because if someone attacked him, he wont have the time to pull it out. He took his backpack from the floor and put it on his shoulders.

*beep*.."Ah, I forgot the PDA data transfer" Thought Lefty. He took the new PDA from his bed, and saw a message:" завершена передача информации."

"Nice."

Lefty took the newer PDA and put it into his pocket. The older one he laid down on the table. Now he was ready to leave.

He pulled the small metal key to the right, and the door opened. He then exited his room, and pulled out the key. He locked the door once more and began to walk to the exit of the building.

On his way out of the building, he heard some noises. He stopped for a second, only to find out that sounds were snores. Other stalkers were sleeping. The weather was a real spring weather – no clouds, and the Zone was full of life.

The situation in the camp was the same. Rookie stalkers were in the buildings, and the more experienced ones were outside, patrolling. Lefty didn't want to delay time; instead he communicated with Vladimir through radio:

(8:21 am) "Vladimir, I'm on my way to Sidorovich."

…

(8:21 am) "Vladimir, are you still sleeping!"

(8:21 am) "W…who is there? What"

(8:22 am) "Lefty, I said I am going to Sidorovich now!"

(8:22 am) " Ah it's you, sorry I was busy with something…Good luck"

When Lefty finished the somewhat uncommon conversation with Vladimir, he set off to the road which leads to the Cordon.

Lefty felt an adrenaline rush and some weird energy in him, because he knew that he is surely going to fight something or somewhat.

As he progressed, the camp could not be visible anymore. Lefty knew that he now is left to the mercy of the Zone and it's inhabitants.

The rusting of the leaves complemented the feeling of freedom and independence to Lefty. He finally had some solitude and peace inside of him. The road which leaded to the Cordon was never full of stalkers. In that area were Bandit camps and Military outposts. Nevertheless, the wildlife was beautiful.

The landscape was amazing. Along the road was a plain, with several big trees.

From the distance some strange howls could be heard, but that didn't worry Lefty, because nothing was important to him that moment.

The grass was dense and big, as it was when Lefty first got near the Cordon. At that time, it didn't seem to Lefty as a place full of danger – it seemed to him like harmless nature.

After several hours of walking and enjoying the nature, Lefty finally felt pain in his legs and hunger. Next to the dirty and muddy road, was a big tree. He decided to make a little break there. He walked off the road to the nearby tree. The morning dew got Lefty's boots moisted. The tree was really big – it made Lefty unseen from the other side, so other stalkers couldn't see him. He finally put down his waterproof backpack, and took from it a "Tourist's breakfast can", which was common food for stalkers, and a little bottle of water. The soil was wet, and because of that, Lefty put the backpack on the soil, and stretched it a bit. He then sat upon it.

The sight was fascinating. In front of Lefty was the usual Zone terrain. In the far distance he could see a group of stalkers marching in a line. Because of the distance, Lefty couldn't discern the stalkers from which faction were they.

Lefty slowly regained strength with that rest. He stood up on his legs, which now regained strength. The dense grass slowed Lefty's movement.

The morning was passing already, as the sun began to rise up. Lefty finally made his way to the muddy road. His energy came back to his body, and Lefty could feel that. Then, with nothing to distract him, he began to recall moments from the past.

A gunshot "woke" Lefty up from his "dream". The gunshot was followed with a terrible scream which pierced Lefty's ears. Lefty felt the danger he was in, and jumped to the grass near the road. Lefty held his breath for several seconds, only to hear another gunshot coming somewhere near him. He slowly began to crawl to the place from which the gunshots were heard, making a low noise. He tightened his weapon in his both hands. After that – silence. No noises could be heard. Only a few mutant dogs barking in the distance. Lefty knew what "quiet" means, so he prepared for the worst.

And he was right. Again after that, he heard a burst of shots. Another scream was heard, and that time, the beast which made the scream seemed angry.

The grass cracked under the beasts feet. A terrifying roar could be heard now from another spot. Lefty tried to remain calm, but he couldn't. The screams of the unknown stalker were horrible to Lefty..

The scream was a trigger for Lefty. He grabbed his weapon and lifted his body up. 10 meters in front of him, he saw something strange. The still morning sun clearly revealed a shimmering silhouette standing upon a stalker with it's numerous and giant tentacles ready to feed on the unlucky stalker's wounded body. A mutant known as "bloodsucker" was at least a 6 foot tall mutant, and covered in a leathery hide. Just below it's glowing eyes, were the tentacles. Lefty confronted only a small number of these mutants.

Just as the beast was about to suck the stalker's blood, Lefty aimed and squeezed the trigger of his Viper 5 weapon. The bullets pierced the bloodsucker's body, with a mist of darkish blood. The bloodsucker painfully twisted it's body to Lefty's direction. The bloodsucker's eyes which were full of rage, pierced Lefty's flesh with it's glance. The earth under the bloodsucker's big feet cracked when it began to rush to Lefty.

The gap between him and the bloodsucker quickly narrowed as the bloodsucker rushed to Lefty with all of it's remaining strength. Lefty, for the second time, pulled his Viper 5 to his shoulder, aiming at the beasts torso. The bloodsucker caught two bullets in it's torso, while the recoil pushed the muzzle up to it's head. The bloodsucker grieved in pain, but it didn't stop to run. Lefty could now clearly see the beast. He pulled the trigger once more – but the magazine was empty. He didn't have time to reload, so he took his army hunting knife. Over the bloodsucker's face, a crimson stain appeared.

The bloodsucker ran towards Lefty with rage and fury. It almost fell on the ground because of it's wounds.

"You do not want to stop, do you?"

As the now narrow gap between Lefty and the bloodsucker now closed up, Lefty could feel the bloodsucker's cold and sticky skin, and it's breath. He jumped to the side, only to find the bloodsucker stumble upon a rock, and desperately trying to get up. It almost succeeded – but Lefty intercepted it. He pierced the bloodsucker's head with the sharp and lethal military hunting knife. The bloodsucker finally gave a light scream, and it instantly stopped, as Lefty gave it a final kick with his boot. The cold and putrid bloodsucker's body slid down the small slope with rocks pummeling it's now deformed head. Lefty put his knife into the pocket, and rushed to the place where the stalker was.

The stalker was now lying in the tall grass with his arms and face gashed from the bloodsucker's claws. The stalker was still alive, though. From his screaming, Lefty could recognize only: "Help me!". The stalker's faction patch signaled to Lefty that the stalker was a mercenary. The mercs were the enemies to the Loners.

Lefty stared the stalker for a moment. He had scratches all over his face.

"Sleep well, son!"

Lefty pierced the stalker's chest with his hunting knife. The stalker screamed once more and exhaled his last breath.

Lefty quickly looted what valuables the stalker had, scared of possible mercenary attacks.

The fog lifted up in the sky, and the environment became much clearer now. The sun rays made their way through the thick branches. Lefty decided not to travel on the road, because he could be easily spotted by bandits or mercenaries. The monolithians under command of the high preacher Psihopatul, were not roaming in that parts. It seemed that the new monolith leader set his view elsewhere.

The military also didn't go deep into the Zone. They mostly watched the borders of it. But they had their bases in the Zone, so some military soldiers were not rare deeper into the Zone.

The thick grass greatly slowed Lefty's movement down. He did not notice that he run into a small place with a small hill on one of his sides. On the other side he was surrounded by bushes.

" Stop! I want to see your hands in the air!" Said a man with a rough voice behind Lefty.

"Who are you to tell me!" Said Lefty and turned around, only to find three stalkers in green suits pointing their rifles at him.

"We are a Freedom patrol. We spotted a military squad with five members heading this way, we are setting an ambush to kill them off. And you are…?"

"My name is Lefty. I am heading towards the rookie camp at the Cordon. Mind if I join you kill those bastards, the less of them, the better."

"Sure, now that there are four of us, we will split up. Two of us are going to hide in the bushes, and the rest will hide under that log there."

Said the Freedom stalker which wore a brand new SGI-5k. He must have got it from a warehouse. Indeed, at the place he pointed, was a big tree that crashed down. Just below the place on which the tree crashed, was a dent. It was enough of a shelter for two stalkers. The tree was very thick, so bullets couldn't go through them.

"Me and one of you guys will hide behind that crashed tree." Said Lefty.

"Okay, I am going to hide with you, behind the tree." Said the Freedom stalker again with a rough voice.

"Let's go then. You two, go hide in the bushes, I think they will be coming any moment."

The two stalkers which were silent all the time, just approved Lefty shaking their heads, and quickly run over the muddy, narrow road to the other side. While reaching the bushes, they went prone, so they couldn't be spotted by squads.

When the two stalkers safely crossed the road, Lefty asked the freedomer:

"So, what was your name?"

" Vasilii." Said the freedom stalker with a low voice.

"Okay, now let's go."

The branches loudly cracked as the two stalkers made their way to the crashed tree. It was around 1 o'clock, which all stalkers in the Zone felt, because it was the most warm time of day. It doesn't matter that the Zone is located in the Ukrainian border with Byelorussia. The temperatures in Ukraine could easily drop down to -40C, in the coldest month of winter.

At that time of day, most stalkers went to carry their missions or goals. So in that time of day the Zone became a battlefield.

..As Lefty and Vasilii got into their position, Lefty sat against the big tree and with a deep breath he opened his chamber of his Viper 5 to check if it's full.

"So how much of them are going this way?"

"Maybe 5 of them. I don't know really." Said Vasilii and lifted his body silently, only to take a peek at the road.

After a minute or two of silence, something made a low beep in Lefty's pocket. Vasilii turned his head to Lefty as soon as he heard the beep. He stretched his eyes and shook his head to Lefty's pocket. Lefty pulled it out, only to discover that his new PDA made those beeps when stalkers came in it's range. Next to a small, blinking icon on his PDA interface, was the number "8. The beeping sound stopped quickly, and Lefty pointed his finger to the number and then pointed at the area behind them showing the number 8. Vasilii shook his head and approved his gesture. Vasilii took his new SGI-5k in his hands and pressed a button, and the magazine from the weapon fell out. He took it with his hand and turned the bullet chamber towards him. He did that to make sure not to run out of bullets in midst of the fight.

Vasilii put the magazine

into his weapon and reloaded it again for safety. Just as he wanted to turn around to the road to observe it; his weapon roared a 5.56x45 caliber bullet. The bullet hit a metal plate or what was it, making a loud noise. He then realized he's suddenly fired a shot.

"Shit!" Said Lefty and ran away to the nearest tree searching cover. Lefty could see the military soldiers jump to the place where Vasilii and Lefty were a moment ago. They wore the AKM-74u weapons, which were common in the Military. Vasilii rushed to the place where the grass grew like 40 centimeters and went prone, so the military couldn't see him.

The entire patrol went to search Vasilii, because they only saw him. Lefty leaned a bit to the side and aimed at one slow moving soldier, so he could hit him easily.

"We meet again, jarheads!" Whispered Lefty and squeezed the trigger. He was lucky to carry a Viper 5, so the soldiers couldn't see the place from which the shot came. The military soldier got hit in his temple and fell on the side, hitting a tree. The other military stalkers noticed he "caught" a shot and they began to "circle" around with their weapons raised in the height of their heads. One of the soldiers turned his view to the position where Lefty was. Lefty thought he saw him and he quickly turned around where the tree could cover him entirely.

He held his breath for some seconds, only to hear some footsteps coming nearer and nearer to him. He knew he couldn't use his Viper 5 and his pistol, because they would hear him. He silently pulled out his crimson hunting knife, which had blood stains on it. When the soldier closed in to Lefty, he moved a bit to the side, only to grab the soldier on his mouth from behind. Lefty then came in front of him and stopped for a second.

The soldier stretched his eyes and shook his head, begging Lefty not to kill him. Lefty took his knife and with rage, he stabbed the soldier in his belly. The soldier made a frightening grimace and began to fall down. Lefty slowly put him down, so he couldn't make any noise

Still, there were 6 soldiers left. Lefty didn't exactly knew how to kill them, as he was overwhelmed. No signs of Vasilii and the other two freedom stalkers.

50 meters away, the strange howl like before two hours could be heard. Lefty's heart got paralyzed and he didn't move for a second from that moment. He realized that those howls weren't animal, nor mutant howls. Seconds from that moment, a burst of shots could be heard. Those were some more advanced weapons, than the ones Lefty saw. Near Lefty, noises like someone was falling could be heard.

"What the fuck is happening, who are those guys, did they kill the military patrol on themselves?"

Lefty was right, he turned around and saw two stalkers, of which one of them aimed his pistol on a military soldier and screamed:

"DIE!"

"No, please, don't do that!" *bang*. The unknown stalker squeezed the trigger and the soldier exhaled his last breath. The stalker gave him a final kick to his head.

"Stalker, we've seen you. Come here"

"W…Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter. You are a Loner right?"

"Yes…"

"It's alright, we mean no harm to Loners." Said the bigger stalker, and both of them wore new gas masks. Their armors were improved, and their colors were dark. The colors represented their hatred for other hostile stalkers.

"Th…thank you…"

"Don't thank us. The military is one of our enemies. Every enemy of ours will get his punishment for sure. Keep that in mind!"

"Hmm…well I'd better move on. See you fellow stalkers!"

The unknown stalker only turned his head at the plain, where a pile of trash could be spotted.


	6. Teaser

While running towards the strange blue light, Lefty noticed some stalkers with light blue and green armors discussing something. Those seemed as Clear Sky members. They weren't unfriendly to the Loners. Lefty approached them.

"Good day, fellow stalkers! What drives you here?"

"That light in the small tunnel is an artifact, but it is being guarded by a controller, and it has only one exit; the way we enter from. We dare not try to kill him.

"Let's try together maybe'?

"Well, let's go."

The three stalkers went to the tunnel. The tunnel had a slight curve, so the end of it couldn't be seen. As they closed in on the end of the tunnel, they felt they had a headache and they noticed a slight dizziness. Lefty pulled out his Viper 5 weapon and checked it's magazine. The other two stalkers were at the side of the wall where Lefty was. One of them had a SPAS 12, and the other one an Abakan. Just as they wanted to lean and see where is the controller, they spotted a large pile of metal trash at the center, and some large metal container boxes there. That was a perfect spot to hide. .

They all picked a spot for themselves. Lefty hid behind the container, and the two Clear Sky stalkers hid behind the pile of metal. Lefty gave a gesture with his hand that he'll go first. He slightly leaned from his cover, and saw a humanoid-shaped creature sitting in front of a campfire and mumbled some strange words. It was the size of an average human and had a yellow-ish skin. Lefty had luck it didn't spot him.

The viper 5 was accurate. Lefty aimed through his rifle, and aimed at the head of the controller. It was disproportionate. Lefty squeezed the trigger and then, as if nothing happened, the controlled quickly spotted him and began to cast his psy bolt. Lefty returned to his cover and shouted: ATTACK! HE IS COMING!

The two stalker also leaned from their covers and attacked. The controlled gave no signs of retreating. The stalkers continued to pump shots at him, but suddenly the controller started running very fast at the stalker which wore the abakan. The stalker began shouting and running away, but the controller got him. With one attack from his claw, hand or whatever it was the stalker fell down. Cold. With rage he could not release.

Lefty and the other stalker just looked at each other, and went mad. They didn't pay attention to the headache and the dizziness, but they constantly pumped shots into the controller's head and chest. The SPAS 12 seemed to be the most effective. The controller was now wounded. Lefty pulled out a grenade, and threw it right in front of the controller

"GET TO COVER!" shouted Lefty. The other stalker quickly jumped and made a roll to the metal container, while Lefty did the same. The grenade exploded. The controllers body was lying down, on the bloody asphalt.


End file.
